Sara Leaming

North Central High School senior Courtney Ramsey is the poster child for the "it's cool to stay in school," campaign. The 17-year-old hasn't missed a day of school in 12 years. Not one.

High school sophomores should find out next week whether they passed the state's high-stakes exam now required for graduation and whether summer will be spent preparing for another crack at the test in August. Early results for students in grades 10 through 12, who took the Washington Assessment of Student Learning this spring, will likely be released to school districts June 8, officials with the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction said Thursday.

The head administrator for Valley Christian School has been asked not to return next year amid a state investigation into his conduct. Wes Evans, who has led the Spokane Valley private school for 18 years, is under investigation by the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for failure to report physical abuse of a student by a teacher. State officials said they don't know when the results of that investigation will be released.

School districts across Washington will see an increase in state money for reducing class sizes as they head into budget adoptions this summer. Under a supplemental state budget signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire last month, districts will get a per-student increase in voter-approved Initiative 728 funding, critical for helping struggling students, providing professional development for teachers and keeping class sizes down.

A former Spokane Public Schools parent is suing the district, claiming that staff at a North Side elementary school wouldn't let her daughter use the bathroom and forced the girl to sit in her own urine. Virla Spencer, who last year filed a civil rights complaint against the district, is seeking damages for negligence from a March 30, 2005, incident in which her daughter was denied access to the bathroom at Arlington Elementary School, according to a lawsuit filed in Spokane County Superior Court last week.

Yearbook sales, activities cards and theater tickets continue to create headaches for Spokane Public Schools officials, a recent state audit shows. A report from the Washington State Auditor's Office illustrates continued problems with the district's handling of Associated Student Body funds at its high schools for the fifth time.

Spokane area parents wanting to move their children to a different public school have just weeks to apply for admission, but many schools say there's no room for outsiders. The transfer process, known as "choicing in" runs through April at most Spokane area schools, leaving the districts the better part of spring to determine how many employees they'll need next fall.